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The KASPAR humanoid robot, developed at the University of Hertfordshire has previously been used in studies of human robot interaction with normal and autistic children. We reported in 2007 on KASPAR being used to teach social skills to autistic children. According to a recently released paper, KASPAR is now being used by researchers interested in finding out if children interviewed by a humandoid robot respond in the same way as to human interviewers. In particular they wanted to find out if children would be more or less willing to disclose information to robots. The results surprised the researchers, who had expected to see some preference in the children for either robots or humans. From the paper:

The results were contrary to our expectations. Rather than having a clear preference, the children behaved very similarly towards either of the interviewers (human/robot). The children used similar amounts of words, keywords and filler words when responding to both the robot and the human interviewer. There was also very little difference in the amount of words the children used relative to the amount of words the interviewer used. These findings illustrate that the children communicated with the robot in a similar way to which they did the human interviewer.

Boyan Slat has launched the Ocean Cleanup Foundation to develop safe methods of cleaning the billions of tons of plastic that humans have dumped into the world's oceans, where they are poisoning the food chain. His solution involves arrays of booms that would direct small plastic particles into robotic collection platforms. The arrays would be anchored along the radius of the ocean gyres where the massive plastic garbage patches form. The arrays are powered by ocean currents and the booms allow sea life to safely avoiding being trapped. Even better, researchers estimate the system could collect as much 7.2 billion kg of plastic (around a third of what's out there) in a form that could be profitably recycled. From the projects website:

Is it the perfect solution? No. We will be able to retrieve billions of kilograms of plastic from the oceans, but that still won't be 100% of what's in the world's oceans. We’ll need a combination of extraction from the oceans and prevention on land in order to succeed. One of the problems with preventive work is that there isn’t any imagery of these ‘garbage patches’, because the debris is dispersed over millions of square kilometres. By placing our arrays however, it will accumulate along the booms, making it suddenly possible to actually visualise the oceanic garbage patches. We need to stress the importance of recycling, and reducing our consumption of plastic packaging. Furthermore, by developing systems that will intercept plastic before it reaches the sea, we hope to further reduce the impact of plastic on the oceans.

Today's edition of best robot photos of the week includes a vintage Armdroid 1, a robot from SXSW, two Comic Con robots, a Barcamp robot, and a few other oddities. Every week we post a collection of the best robot photos submitted by our readers to our robots.net flickr group. Why? Because everyone likes to see cool new robots! Want to see your robot here? Post it to flickr and add it to the robots.net flickr group. It's easy! If you're not already a flickr member, it's free and easy to sign up. Read on to see the best robot photos of the week!

You may recall from our article on the latest DARPA Robotics Challenge that one of the CMU teams was planning to build a humanoid robot named CHIMP, for CMU Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform. The contest is very ambitious, calling for humanoid rescue robots that can break through concrete walls, climb ladders, open doors, and use power tools designed for humans. CMU's Tartan Rescue team has now released details of their design. CHIMP combines features of humanoid robots with elbow and knee mounted track drives, allowing the robot to walk, climb, or resort to older style skid steered tank-like drive. The front limbs have human-like jointing and mobility. From the news release:

CHIMP will be able to perform complex, physically challenging tasks through supervised autonomy. A remote, human operator will make high-level commands controlling the robot’s path and actions, while the robot’s on-board intelligence prevents collisions, maintains stability and otherwise keeps the robot from harm. The robot also will be pre-programmed to execute tasks such as grasping a tool, stepping on a ladder rung or turning a steering wheel without step-by-step direction from the human controller, circumventing the lag between command and execution.

The team optimistically claims CHIMP will have "near human strength and dexterity" and that the robot will be able to adapt its motion to changing circumstance so that "in a pinch, it can do anything". We look forward to seeing prototypes of this robot and wish Team Tartan luck with their project. For more details, check out the Team Tartan CHIMP website.

Today's edition of best robot photos of the week includes two Standford robots that may help advance the state of the art in planetary exploration robotics, we also have a variety art robots, images of children and adults fascinated by robots, and an evil invading robot whose plans were thwarted by fog. Every week we post a collection of the best robot photos submitted by our readers to our robots.net flickr group. Why? Because everyone likes to see cool new robots! Want to see your robot here? Post it to flickr and add it to the robots.net flickr group. It's easy! If you're not already a flickr member, it's free and easy to sign up. Read on to see the best robot photos of the week!

Acronym-happy DARPA has announced the Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) program to launch Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) fixed-wing unmanned aircraft (UAVs). So what is the TERN MALE UAV program? A fleet of long-range UAVs (flying robots or "drones" as the media like to call them) that can be launched from nearly any US Naval vessel. The UAVs could be recovered by any other TERN equipped vessel, not necessarily the same one that launched the vehicle. From the announcement:

“It’s like having a falcon return to the arm of any person equipped to receive it, instead of to the same static perch every time. About 98 percent of the world’s land area lies within 900 nautical miles of ocean coastlines. Enabling small ships to launch and retrieve long-endurance UAVs on demand would greatly expand our situational awareness and our ability to quickly and flexibly engage in hotspots over land or water.”

Among the technical challenges noted in the announcement for this type of flying robot launch and recovery system: launching from small ships in rough seas, designing a UAV comparable in range to existing models but meeting the requirement of a maritime environment, the system must require only reversible modifications to ship and minimal personnel. For more information, you can check out the TERN program notice from DARPA Tactical Technology Office.

Brain Awareness Week starts on 11 March and organizations all over the world are preparing educational activities to highlight the importance of continued research into one of the most advanced and complicated machines we know of. As roboticists, we have a special interest in the workings of brains because the ultimate goal of robotics is to produce similar thinking machines. But there are many other reasons to study the brain. From a Virginia Tech news release: Brain Awareness Week will highlight the wonders of nature's most remarkable machine

"[the human brain is] a portable supercomputer that requires only the wattage of a dim light bulb to run and yet can decode ancient languages, invent fictional worlds, and distinguish friend from foe" ... "All brains - including those of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals - are complex organs that represent the pinnacles of the evolutionary process, capable of performing demanding tasks more efficiently and effectively than any machine. And each brain has evolved the exquisite adaptive capacity to extract, decipher, and act upon information in the world that is essential to survival.